An average life expectancy in Japan has reached a world's leading level owing to improvement of life environment and medical advance. However, with rapid aging of the population, percentages of life style-related diseases such as cancers, cardiac diseases, strokes and diabetes in entire diseases are increased, and along with this, the increase of persons in need of nursing care has been a serious social problem.
According to prompt report of diabetes survey results in fiscal Heisei 14 published from Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Heisei 15, the persons strongly suspected to have diabetes are 7.40 millions and the persons who can not be denied to have the possibility of diabetes are 8.80 millions, and increased by 500 thousands (6.90 millions in Heisei 9) and 2.00 millions (6.80 millions in Heisei 9), respectively from the same survey carried out in Heisei 9. The diabetes is one of risk factors for cardiac diseases and strokes, and the increase of its candidates indicates that the possibility that the diabetes occurs frequently is high and the risk causing the cardiac diseases and the strokes is high.
In factors such as diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, HDL hypocholesterolemia and hypertension which compose a metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance is observed to be a common basis, and upstream thereof, accumulation of visceral fat due to excessive eating and shortage of exercise is present. That is, it is very important for early identification to measure the accumulation of visceral fat and the insulin resistance. For measuring the accumulation of visceral fat and the insulin resistance, an abdominal CT examination and a glucose clamp technique are described to be the most reliable methods, respectively. However, these measurements are complicated, and thus, the use thereof is limited in general physicians in practice and medical checkup facilities such as complete health screening.
As an index of the insulin resistance, HOMA (Homeostasis model assessment) is generally used. HOMA has a good correlation with the result of the glucose clamp technique in patients with type 2 diabetes having obesity, but it has been pointed out that its correlativity with the glucose clamp technique is not identified in the non-obese patients with diabetes (see Non-patent literature 1).
Reliability in the evaluation of the insulin resistance by HOMA varies depending on degrees of the obesity (visceral obesity is also involved). Thus, it is difficult that the insulin resistance is correctly evaluated in actual clinical fields, and a highly reliable method which is uniformly applicable for all patients with diabetes has been required.    Non-patent literature 1: “Diabetes” (in Japanese), 42:1005-1010, 1999